# 2017–18 3. Liga

The 2017–18 3. Liga was the tenth season of the 3. Liga. It began on 21 July 2017 and concluded on 12 May 2018.
The fixtures were announced on 4 July 2017.

## Teams
### Team changes

| Promoted from 2016–17 Regionalliga | Relegated from 2016–17 2. Bundesliga | Promoted to 2017–18 2. Bundesliga | Relegated from 2016–17 3. Liga |
| Carl Zeiss Jena SV Meppen SpVgg Unterhaching | Karlsruher SC Würzburger Kickers | MSV Duisburg Holstein Kiel Jahn Regensburg | FSV Frankfurt Mainz 05 II |

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| VfR Aalen | Aalen | Scholz-Arena | 14,500 |
| Chemnitzer FC | Chemnitz | Stadion an der Gellertstraße | 18,712 |
| Rot-Weiß Erfurt | Erfurt | Steigerwaldstadion | 18,611 |
| SG Sonnenhof Großaspach | Aspach | Mechatronik Arena | 10,000 |
| Carl Zeiss Jena | Jena | Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld | 12,990 |
| Hallescher FC | Halle | Erdgas Sportpark | 15,057 |
| Karlsruher SC | Karlsruhe | Wildparkstadion | 29,699 |
| Fortuna Köln | Cologne | Südstadion | 14,800 |
| Sportfreunde Lotte | Lotte | Sportpark am Lotter Kreuz | 7,414 |
| 1. FC Magdeburg | Magdeburg | MDCC-Arena | 27,500 |
| SV Meppen | Meppen | Hänsch-Arena | 16,500 |
| Preußen Münster | Münster | Preußenstadion | 15,050 |
| VfL Osnabrück | Osnabrück | Stadion an der Bremer Brücke | 16,667 |
| SC Paderborn | Paderborn | Benteler Arena | 15,000 |
| Hansa Rostock | Rostock | Ostseestadion | 29,000 |
| SpVgg Unterhaching | Unterhaching | Alpenbauer Sportpark | 15,053 |
| SV Wehen Wiesbaden | Wiesbaden | BRITA-Arena | 12,250 |
| Werder Bremen II | Bremen | Weserstadion Platz 11 | 5,500 |
| Würzburger Kickers | Würzburg | Flyeralarm Arena | 14,500 |
| FSV Zwickau | Zwickau | Stadion Zwickau | 10,049 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| VfR Aalen | Peter Vollmann | Marc Endres | Saller | Prowin |
| Chemnitzer FC | David Bergner | Kevin Conrad | adidas | Ahorn Hotels |
| Rot-Weiß Erfurt | Stefan Emmerling | Jens Möckel | Jako | Thüringer Energie AG |
| SG Sonnenhof Großaspach | Sascha Hildmann | Daniel Hägele | Hummel | Urbacher Mineralquellen |
| Hallescher FC | Rico Schmitt | Royal-Dominique Fennell | Puma | Halplus |
| Carl Zeiss Jena | Mark Zimmermann | René Eckardt | Puma | Medipolis |
| Karlsruher SC | Alois Schwartz | Kai Bülow | Jako | Klaiber Markisen |
| Fortuna Köln | Uwe Koschinat | Hamdi Dahmani | Jako | HIT Handelsgruppe |
| Sportfreunde Lotte | Andreas Golombek | Tim Wendel | Puma | FRIMO Group |
| 1. FC Magdeburg | Jens Härtel | Marius Sowislo | Uhlsport | FAM |
| SV Meppen | Christian Neidhart | Martin Wagner | Nike | KiK xxl |
| Preußen Münster | Marco Antwerpen | Adriano Grimaldi | Nike | Tuja Zeitarbeit |
| VfL Osnabrück | Daniel Thioune | Christian Groß | adidas | Sparkasse |
| SC Paderborn | Steffen Baumgart | Christian Strohdiek | Saller | Mediacom |
| Hansa Rostock | Pavel Dochev | Amaury Bischoff | Nike | kurzurlaub.de |
| SpVgg Unterhaching | Claus Schromm | Ulrich Taffertshofer | adidas | Alpenbauer |
| SV Wehen Wiesbaden | Rüdiger Rehm | David Blacha | Nike | Brita |
| Werder Bremen II | Sven Hübscher | Rafael Kazior | Nike | Wiesenhof |
| Würzburger Kickers | Michael Schiele | Sebastian Neumann | Jako | s.Oliver |
| FSV Zwickau | Torsten Ziegner | Toni Wachsmuth | Puma | Zwickauer Energieversorgung |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Chemnitzer FC | Sven Köhler | Resigned | 30 June 2017 | Preseason | Horst Steffen | 1 July 2017 |
| Hansa Rostock | Uwe Ehlers | End of caretaker | 30 June 2017 | Preseason | Pavel Dochev | 1 July 2017 |
| Würzburger Kickers | Bernd Hollerbach | Sacked | 30 June 2017 | Preseason | Stephan Schmidt | 1 July 2017 |
| SG Sonnenhof Großaspach | Oliver Zapel | Resigned | 30 June 2017 | Preseason | Sascha Hildmann | 1 July 2017 |
| Sportfreunde Lotte | Ismail Atalan | Signed by VfL Bochum | 11 July 2017 | Preseason | Oscar Corrochano | 14 July 2017 |
| Sportfreunde Lotte | Oscar Corrochano | Resigned | 27 July 2017 | 18th | Marc Fascher | 27 July 2017 |
| Karlsruher SC | Marc-Patrick Meister | Sacked | 20 August 2017 | 15th | Christian Eichner Zlatan Bajramović (joint caretakers) | 20 August 2017 |
| Karlsruher SC | Christian Eichner Zlatan Bajramović | End of tenure as caretakers | 29 August 2017 | 16th | Alois Schwartz | 29 August 2017 |
| Rot-Weiß Erfurt | Stefan Krämer | Sacked | 2 October 2017 | 20th | David Bergner | 2 October 2017 |
| Würzburger Kickers | Stephan Schmidt | Sacked | 2 October 2017 | 17th | Michael Schiele | 2 October 2017 |
| VfL Osnabrück | Joe Enochs | Sacked | 4 October 2017 | 19th | Daniel Thioune | 5 October 2017 |
| Werder Bremen II | Florian Kohfeldt | Promoted to Werder Bremen | 30 October 2017 | 16th | Oliver Zapel | 13 November 2017 |
| Sportfreunde Lotte | Marc Fascher | Sacked | 1 November 2017 | 16th | Andreas Golombek | 1 November 2017 |
| Rot-Weiß Erfurt | David Bergner | Sacked | 20 November 2017 | 20th | Stefan Emmerling | 20 November 2017 |
| Preußen Münster | Benno Möhlmann | Sacked | 10 December 2017 | 16th | Marco Antwerpen | 12 December 2017 |
| Chemnitzer FC | Horst Steffen | Sacked | 2 January 2018 | 19th | Sreto Ristić (interim) | 2 January 2018 |
| Chemnitzer FC | Sreto Ristić | End of caretaker tenure | 6 January 2018 | 19th | David Bergner | 6 January 2018 |
| Werder Bremen II | Oliver Zapel | Sacked | 5 February 2018 | 19th | Sven Hübscher | 5 February 2018 |
| FSV Zwickau | Torsten Ziegner | Sacked | 25 April 2018 | 16th | Danny König (interim) | 25 April 2018 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | 1. FC Magdeburg (C, P) | 38 | 27 | 4 | 7 | 70 | 32 | +38 | 85 | Promotion to 2. Bundesliga and qualification for DFB-Pokal |
| 2 | SC Paderborn (P) | 38 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 90 | 33 | +57 | 83 | Promotion to 2. Bundesliga and qualification for DFB-Pokal |
| 3 | Karlsruher SC | 38 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 49 | 29 | +20 | 69 | Qualification for promotion play-offs and DFB-Pokal |
| 4 | Wehen Wiesbaden | 38 | 21 | 5 | 12 | 76 | 39 | +37 | 68 | Qualification for DFB-Pokal |
| 5 | Würzburger Kickers | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 53 | 46 | +7 | 61 | |
| 6 | Hansa Rostock | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 48 | 34 | +14 | 60 | |
| 7 | SV Meppen | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 50 | 47 | +3 | 58 | |
| 8 | Fortuna Köln | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 53 | 48 | +5 | 54 | |
| 9 | SpVgg Unterhaching | 38 | 16 | 6 | 16 | 54 | 55 | −1 | 54 | |
| 10 | Preußen Münster | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 50 | 49 | +1 | 52 | |
| 11 | Carl Zeiss Jena | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 49 | 59 | −10 | 52 | |
| 12 | VfR Aalen | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 48 | 57 | −9 | 50 | |
| 13 | Hallescher FC | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 52 | 54 | −2 | 49 | |
| 14 | Sonnenhof Großaspach | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 55 | 60 | −5 | 47 | |
| 15 | FSV Zwickau | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 38 | 55 | −17 | 41 | |
| 16 | Sportfreunde Lotte | 38 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 43 | 60 | −17 | 40 | |
| 17 | VfL Osnabrück | 38 | 8 | 13 | 17 | 47 | 67 | −20 | 37 | |
| 18 | Werder Bremen II (R) | 38 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 39 | 62 | −23 | 31 | Relegation to Regionalliga |
| 19 | Chemnitzer FC (R) | 38 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 48 | 74 | −26 | 22 | Relegation to Regionalliga |
| 20 | Rot-Weiß Erfurt (R) | 38 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 26 | 78 | −52 | 13 | Relegation to Regionalliga |
* ↑ Reserve teams are ineligible for promotion or DFB-Pokal qualification.
* ↑ On 23 April 2018, Chemnitzer FC was deducted nine points after filing for insolvency, where Chemnitz did not appeal against.
* ↑ On 13 February 2018, Rot-Weiß Erfurt was deducted one point, which Erfurt appealed. It was denied on 23 February 2018 and confirmed on 13 March 2018. Another nine points were deducted, on 29 March 2018, after Erfurt filed for insolvency. It was made official on 6 April 2018 after Erfurt did not appeal against it.

## Results

| Home \ Away | AAL | BR2 | CHE | ERF | GRO | HAL | JEN | KAR | KÖL | LOT | MAG | MEP | MÜN | OSN | PAD | ROS | UNT | WIE | WÜR | ZWI |
| VfR Aalen | — | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–5 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–2 |
| Werder Bremen II | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–5 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Chemnitzer FC | 2–4 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 0–3 | 1–0 |
| Rot-Weiß Erfurt | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–5 | — | 0–6 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–4 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–3 |
| Sonnenhof Großaspach | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–0 |
| Hallescher FC | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 3–0 | — | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–4 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 |
| Carl Zeiss Jena | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 |
| Karlsruher SC | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Fortuna Köln | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | — | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 3–0 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Sportfreunde Lotte | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | — | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 |
| 1. FC Magdeburg | 6–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | — | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| SV Meppen | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 4–0 |
| Preußen Münster | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | — | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| VfL Osnabrück | 4–1 | 1–1 | 6–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | — | 0–5 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 4–0 |
| SC Paderborn | 3–0 | 7–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 6–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | — | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Hansa Rostock | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 5–3 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| SpVgg Unterhaching | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–3 | 0–3 | — | 0–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 |
| Wehen Wiesbaden | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 6–2 | 5–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–2 | 3–0 |
| Würzburger Kickers | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–5 | — | 1–1 |
| FSV Zwickau | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — |

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Manuel Schäffler | Wehen Wiesbaden | 22 |
| 2 | Benjamin Girth | SV Meppen | 19 |
| 2 | Stephan Hain | SpVgg Unterhaching | 19 |
| 2 | Sven Michel | SC Paderborn | 19 |
| 5 | Fabian Schleusener | Karlsruher SC | 17 |
| 5 | Philip Türpitz | 1. FC Magdeburg | 17 |
| 7 | Stephan Andrist | Wehen Wiesbaden | 15 |
| 7 | Adriano Grimaldi | Preußen Münster | 15 |
| 7 | Daniel Keita-Ruel | Fortuna Köln | 15 |
| 10 | Christian Beck | 1. FC Magdeburg | 13 |
| 10 | Daniel Frahn | Chemnitzer FC | 13 |
| 10 | Matthias Morys | VfR Aalen | 13 |

## Number of teams by state

| Position | State | Number of teams | Teams |
| 1 | North Rhine-Westphalia | 4 | Fortuna Köln, Sportfreunde Lotte, Preußen Münster and SC Paderborn |
| 2 | Baden-Württemberg | 3 | VfR Aalen, SG Sonnenhof Großaspach and Karlsruher SC |
| 3 | Bavaria | 2 | SpVgg Unterhaching and Würzburger Kickers |
| 3 | Lower Saxony | 2 | SV Meppen and VfL Osnabrück |
| 3 | Saxony | 2 | Chemnitzer FC and FSV Zwickau |
| 3 | Saxony-Anhalt | 2 | Hallescher FC and 1. FC Magdeburg |
| 3 | Thuringia | 2 | Rot-Weiß Erfurt and Carl Zeiss Jena |
| 8 | Bremen | 1 | Werder Bremen II |
| 8 | Hesse | 1 | Wehen Wiesbaden |
| 8 | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 1 | Hansa Rostock |